The Deputy Home Minister said, the proposed amendments were necessary following the Federal Court's April 2022 decision, which ruled that Sections 4 and 15B of POCA were unconstitutional.

In response to the court's decision, he said the Home Ministry conducted several engagement sessions with stakeholders and presented the proposed amendments to the Cabinet on December 13, 2023, where it was approved.

A special stakeholder engagement session in February 2024, involving the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), the Minister of Digital Communications, government officials, MPs and representatives from non-governmental organisations, further refined the proposals, he added.

Following feedback from these sessions, he said a subsequent workshop was held in March to review suggestions and address stakeholder concerns with the outcomes, then presented to the Home Minister in April.

Read futher on The Star's article attached.